DF Retro: Forsaken - The Classic 90s Shooter Returns to PC and Xbox One!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- A pioneering game from the early days of PC 3D acceleration, Probe Software's excellent Forsaken enjoyed an impressive PS1 port and a very different incarnation on Nintendo 64. And now the game is back, remastered for PC and Xbox One - with full Xbox One X support!
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I remember Forsaken 2 being developed when I worked at Acclaim Teesside. I'm sure you could get off the bike and run around. There was lots of cool concept art created for this and an intro made using Lightwave that looked awesome. We had just finished Shadowman when it started but everything shifted to Shadowman 2. I left just after this. That studio had lots of cool game concepts that were never finished, such as Bloodshot which had duel wielding gun mechanics. Most of us went on to work at Atomic Planet.
DF pin this comment please.
I would love to hear your story about your time at Acclaim!
It was my first major break into the games industry. I'd previously worked on Megadrive/Genesis games when I was 15 years old during my summer holidays. I always wanted to be an artist and helped on Pete Sampras 96 and Micromachines on Snes. I got a job at Acclaim testing Shadowman on all platforms. They had just finished Forsaken 64 and it was a major hit. It was a seriously cool company to work for. Amazing Christmas parties with free bars and some amazing people who had been in the games industry since the start. Testing games was kind of your foot in the door. I could play that game in my sleep. It was almost the end of the rock and roll years of gaming though. I went on to work on a lot of games as an artist after that but got out of the industry in about 2005. The games industry now is a lot different, you are pretty much sacked after a project is complete with only a core team left in place, pretty much like the visual effects industry. I'm a qualified nurse now in A&E (ED). I think I worked on about 30 games during this part of my life. Some good, and some really bad (Miami vice on PS2 is pretty bad hahah.).
Not sure. There is an active community who mod the game and they have a facebook group. I'm quite good friends with the musician from the game and he would probably know best. I would imagine the rights to the game would be the issue. I'm sure someone must have the source code somewhere, it was backed up nearly every day.
Paul Robinson
Awesome. Thanks for sharing. A dream for me that'll never be realized.
You must be a master of WWF Attitude! Lol
Just finished watching LGR's review of this game
Wahyuddin Wahab I was thinking the same.
I almost skipped over this because I saw swimsuit lady in the thumbnail and said "TH-cam plz, I already watched this LGR video"
But then it wasn't LGR 😬
Me too
Yeah, same here. I thought that TH-cam is just, as usual, forcing me video I've already seen. Although when it comes to LGR's content I would happily watch it again so I looked at it more closely. Surprise surprise i twas DF instead:)
Yeah, I thought youtube was messed up and reposted his.
I was a bigger fan of Descent than Doom at the time so I bought every copy of Forsaken and still own them; the PS1, N64 and PC. Thank you for making em aware of the remaster. Also, the chick on the box art was obviously supposed to look like Kate Winslet who took her top off in Titanic a year before.
Now can we get legacy of kain remastered?
this is the only content i watch from DF anymore.
It's about time we stop fawning over the 8 and 16-bit eras and move on to quite possibly the most transformative time in gaming history. I'm so glad to see these games come back in playable form for modern hardware as well as long lost sequels like Overload which is in fact Descent 4 claimed by the developer. I've lived through many generations of gaming, and while most might say that the 3rd and 4th generations were the golden age of gaming, I still long for the days of the 5th generation when everything went 3D and imaginations ran wild.
32~128-bit was a glorious time even if some people claim otherwise.
Amen
Hell, I was born in 1999 and I still think the 5th and 6th generations were my preferred generation for games I buy. To this day my favorite games include MGS1 and SOTN. I also love the N64 Zeldas .
6th gen was best.
All the imagination, and none of the "AAA" "Games are too expensive to be creative" nonsense.
^ Agreed!
DF needs to do a retro video for Vagrant Story
First GGGmanlives, then LGR, and now DF Retro. For a game that Ive never heard before until the remaster was released, it sure has a huge cult following.
I used to absolutly lovethis game when I was a kid,the cover,the music, the shooting and movement. So good
Drinking game: take a shot every time John ends a sentence with either "then" or "mind you."
Joonas Yliaho you will catch alcohol poisoning at around 10:58
Granted, you’ll be drunk.
The soundtrack on this was amazing
Project X is the John Smith of development names.
Nothing beats a Sunday morning Coffee with some DF retro, thank you John.
Digital Foundry, why have you forsaken us with this god forsaken video of forsaken. I forsake you, Digital Foundry.
...for heaven's saken.....
Take note, these videos are way too long, it's like listening to an old fart go on about a subject, too many tangents and irrelevant bits of information. Cut it down, keep it brief and attempt to identify what is fun about this game, not give us a boring history lesson. I even own this game on CD ROM and I couldn't watch the whole thing.
I disagree completely I love how thoroughly detailed DF is.
it's supposed to be a history lesson.
Because it IS as history lesson of a game. Before hand I didn't know anything behind this game and other interesting bits of history which I usually enjoy.
Jesus is the PS1 version impressive and I really look forward to get myself the Xbox version
I was thinking the same thing. They really got some performance outta that PlayStation
Yeah they really did;) Another impressive 60fps ps1 title is INVASION FROM BEYOND! and then you have Bloody Roar 2.. 640/512x480i 60fps with widescreen support...
How could you not mention the N64's 4 player split screen? It was fantastic and one of the best local multiplayer games around. The single player on N64 was awful, though.
I would disable the music and play PJ Harvey as my soundtrack lol
Wow, this is nostalgic. It was never my favourite game but I did enjoy playing this back in the day. It seems to have aged quite well.
I still have that "Bitchin'fast" jpeg on my hard drive all these years later! It blows the Oscar-Meyer 3D Frenzy out of the environment-mapped water!
Big thanks to John at Df. It's a shame you didn't shoot a nuke during the video. This was my favorite n64 game and I had been looking for a good way to play it. Getting it for the xbox one x.
This was one of the first games we had on the original Playstation.. God bless. I still remember the Circuit City we got them from.
I remember this game, used to play it quite a lot at the time on the PC and really enjoyed it, with that in mind, I've put the Forsaken remasterd version and Overload on my Steam wishlist.
Great to see people still love this game. I worked at Probe at the time (as an artist) and did a texture set and a couple of multiplayer maps. The 16 player LAN games we'd play at lunch to 'test' the game were epic. I think like Descent, the multiplayer was far more enjoyable than the single player campaigns.
Forsaken's box art looks like something you'd find on a post-grunge album's art.
great video, although I was surprised there was no mention of Sublevel Zero at the end when talking about games that continued the concept.
I loved Descent on PS1. I knew every inch of that game.
Interesting stuff: i have always kept Forsaken in a corner of my mind but believed that no one else played it, because it's not on TH-cam. A few weeks ago, i started having this small flashbacks of the gameplay, and thought to myself that i'd like to see the game again. Lo and behold, Gggmanlives just reviewed it a few days earlier. A few days later, Mac from Worthabuy reviews it, and now this... Is this the universe answering my calls?
yes the universe is answering your calls.
mine too, I was hoping to see Descent again on youtube.
I have the same feelings about loco roco
I really appreciate Kaiser ports, from Strife to Turok to Forsaken. I hope we get a remaster of Powerslave soon.
Rei dos Vermes he actually ported console Powerslave/Exhumed to his own Kex Engine, but the rights holders refused to give a greenlight on the distribution..
You can still find it if you search on the net.
Hehe!
Multiplayer on N64 was incredible!
The 3dfx era really was the age of colored dynamic lighting and flashy projectiles. Anyone remember G-Police?
Thank you man. Your work is pure entertainment, pure gold!
I played this on the PSX back in the day, loved it but was disappointed with the end which was a screen of text. Finished it a second time on the harder/hardest(?) difficulty hoping that would net a bigger reward, nope! 🤣
Still a very nostalgic game for me, and I listened to the soundtrack many years later. Good times.
One of my life changing games...music, colors , environment..played it on 64 ..so coooool
Great video. I had no idea there's remastered version of Forsaken. I'll definitely look in to it. Didn't touch 6 degrees of freedom games since the 90s. I was Terminal Velocity guy.
Great vid as usual. So glad to see Iguana get some props, they were were one of my favourite developers growing up, I had every game they put out on N64. Nightdive studios are doing God's work with these ports, can't believe that added a 3D map! They seriously need to do the same for Turok and Shadow Man.
N64 was so powerful it managed less than half the PS1's FPS and slightly worse looking graphics (and of course audio was cut back due to the small cartridge size).
VariantAEC because most games in n64 era was only fast port games from small studios. Just see what n64 can. Conker was mp3 audio, indiana jones have good port from pc with audio(factory 5 can make orchestra on n64 just read interview on ign) that same RE2 on psx need two cd on n64 was only one cart. N64 was most powerful but ony when good studio make game
Migot even Saturn had stronger hardware than PSX
Fabricio M Vega
When people say PSX I think the PS2 with a DVR that was exclusive to Japan. Saturn was not as powerful as a PS2 of course...
"PS" and "PS1" are the correct acronyms for the first generation PlayStation hardware.
VariantAEC PSX was the original name for PlayStation. ITS THE SAME FUCKING THING. You mean that i say PSX because of the PS1 right? Not the PS2 japanese hybrid stupid
VariantAEC so, why everyone said PSX instead of PS? Because its more or less the same f**** name. My god.
1:44 The background music gives me a nice flashback to my childhood with this game on the n64. Great to see it again on the Xbox one
that yell from Winroids dough
OW AHHHHHH!
Game over man!
OMG I remember this game. It was on the home pc back in 2000 and I never even thought much of it. Would never have even known the title if it wasn't for this video.
I didn't even know there was a Remaster of this. Thanks for the heads-up!
I remember seeing ads for this game in gaming magazines in about 1996 1997. Great informative video on a game I'll be playing some day soon.
a blast from the past thanks for the video showcasing the game.
Loved both the Descent games and Forsaken as a kid. Could never get past the 2nd level in Forsaken on PC for some reason, haha! Still had tons of fun with the multiplayer over LAN with my brothers. We used to all use the same disc and just pop it out once the game was running and move it over to the next PC to start it up. Good times...
The music put me in a deep nostalgia trance, I didn't hear a word of what John said in this video.
Oh wow. Thank you so much for another Retro episode, John! I just love them!
Didn't know this game was popular in any form. Loved it back on PS1. Great soundtrack and mind bending levels. Didn't finish the game on PS1 though because I stuck in the game rather quickly. Almost walked through the game on my Shield Portble recently with the ability of the emulator to produce a proper 16:9 image with a steady framerate and double the internal renderer resolution.
Probably will give this new version a try when I get a GPD Win2. )))
Can't wait for the next episode.
Oh Monster Hunter World pc version.....
"why have you FORSAKEN me
In your eyes FORSAKEN me
In your thoughts FORSAKEN me
In your heart FORSAKEN, me"
Lol nice song
Truuuuuust iiiinnnnn myyyyyyy
self righteous suiciiide, iiiii cryyy when angels deserve to diiiie
I remember playing this as a kid on my N64 but never understood why the game cover had a woman crying with a tattoo on her face.
James Field hmm makes sense
Rented this on N64 back in the day and loved it played it the whole weekend. Glad to see others loved it as well.
Wow this on the X?? Sweet man! Love my x!
This channel is great for games like this, that didn't set the world alight in terms of gameplay but were cutting edge tech for the time. I remember even at time thinking this game looked 10 times smoother and more fluid than a lot of 3D games out there.
This was one of my favorite games from my childhood, when I had this for the PS1 back on its release.
90's, the best time for gaming!
Antenman Agreed.
Antenman not really.... And before you tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, keep in mind I'm 45.
James Field there's nothing wrong with you enjoying the 90s gaming scene, but we all know a big part of that generation was a clusterfuck. Also obviously I would figure you have at least some first hand experience if you're saying you enjoyed that generation of gaming.
James Field The technical and mechanical complexity of Ultima Underworld is all the evidence you need to prove that not much has changed since the 1990s.
James Field most people try to romanticize gaming 20 or so years ago, but what I remember is there being a lot of hit and miss games and consoles back then. And just in case you were wondering I also spent a lot of time gaming on PC while I was stationed in Europe throughout the 90s.
I like so much this game, i played this back on the PS1 and unlocked every collectible in the entire game.
And the whole soundtrack is superb.
I remember playing hours and hours of Forsaken on PS1 in multiplayer against my uncle when I was a kid. Awesome memories !
Odd that the N64 version couldn't hack 60fps too, it actually had pretty advanced hardware in it at the time despite the blurry cartridge textures.
I owned this on PS1, loved it so much that when the PS2 came out me and my gaming body played Forsaken on PS2 with texture smoothing and it looked amazing. You should take a look on how PS1 titles run on PS2 with the smoothing features enabled.
Need a DF Retro on DESCENT!!
Also everyone should go play OVERLOAD, the best 6dof game from the original creators of Descent (On steam now and coming to xbox one soon)
......and Df Retro TUROK xbox onx x please!!!!! cmon John!!!....
I liked this game on PSone. Will definitely get this on Xbox One X.
Never thought I'd ever seen Forsaken or Shadowman referenced again. Bless you John.
Played this at E3 1998 in a tournament. Was great fun and managed to get to the finals!
Did Nightdive ever manage to sort the licensing issues out for releasing Powerslave/Exhumed??
Oh man forsaken.. I remember this game
never played this, but I always thought the chick on the cover was hot
DatoneGuy The great Patrice Oneal.
Brandon Sandlin I thought it was Kate Winslet lol
DarkReturns - I came to the same conclusion but something about her was off so I researched further. Turns out it's Donna DeCianni.
Brandon Sandlin - nice trolling bro haha
She was at E3 in 1997 promoting the game; I have a picture of her there and she signed a Forsaken shirt that I still wear as an undershirt. They also had a calendar which I still have somewhere.
I'm old so I remember playing this game on a 3dfx card as a kid, and yes, at the time it was beautiful! Great video
Colored Lighting: The Game. I had a demo of this on my old PC with an ATI Rage 128. Was beautiful.
I played Forsaken way back in the 90's on the N64.
It was a wierd yet great experience
9:56 - Never heard this version before. Am impressed it even has a video to go with it.
Just found the full version and gave it a like.
I still remember the sound when you collect the goldbars..lol
Thank you for showing this game! This was one of my favorites!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I played the hell out of Forsaken on the PSone.
JET SET RADIO NEXT PLEASE
Loved Jet Set Radio Future.
What a brilliant game that was with my Diamond Monster 3DFX voodoo chipset.
this was so nice to watch
2:41 Don Francisco? what the hell LOL. Thanx for that image John.
Just when LGR made an classic game review on this gem, now this, an in-depth, super detailed analysis made by none other than john, amazing!
Just needs a HDR version now so we can truly get all the colours the developers wanted us to see.
I remember Forsaken well, I was never any good at it. I think I only got through the first two levels or so.
That woman's face has been burned into my brain since the mid 90s. Forsaken was one of those games that just seemed so adult and badass back then.
Who else played WWF NO MERCY on the N64 me and my brother played that game 24/7
Can I run this on my Voodoo3?
Yes. It came with my Banshee.
The contrast with the dark and dreary look of Quake (yes I know that is intentional) to the bright lights of this game...this game was the next level up in that regard...though it would have been interesting to see what the results would have been like on the Saturn...but by this time the Saturn in the west was near enough dead..
Thank you John
It was one of my favorite games
Memories to recall
One of my favorite games at the time.
Thank you for playing the Forsaken crew track, i actually started 🕺 dancing
As always, great job, guys! I love this series for reminding me of the games I used to play.
Wow, I didn't know they made games like this!
holy shiit i remember this game now. thanks for the nostalgia.
I really hope they are working on Exhumed/Powerslave Ex
I loved Descent 1 & 2. I remember Forsaken as one of the first GPU games i ever saw, ran so smooth on a 3DFX Voodoo card. Kids of today probably do not like these type of games, unfortunately.
Never played this but that box art is burned into my memories from walking by the box on the shelf so many times
DF retro delivers goodies as always!
6 Degrees of freedom in 2021 means alot more then you realised in 2018.
Never understood why this was overlooked.
Who didn't like Descent style gameplay, it was awesome.
Great video DF. Thank you.
I enjoyed it on PS1 and had no problem controlling it. I have an Xbox One X, so definitely want to check it out. I wish some other old games would make a come back. Anyone remember Starlancer?
Used to play this game on N64. Weird game. Reminded me of the Alien series.
Keep the good work coming Digital Foundry!
One of my favorite games of all time, and (I think) my first 3d accelerated game on PC. I might have played Quake before Forsaken, but Forsaken was the first one I bought (Quake was the shareware version lol). Such a gem of a game, really happy more people are getting exposed to Forsaken. While I enjoyed the Descent games, Forsaken was my go to 6DOF game.
never played but recall the cover art gonna check this out on 64 i think great vid as always
Completely missed out on this title years ago. This version seems to be available on GOG so I'm off to go have a look. Thank you for the heads up and fine analysis DF.
I've never heard of this game, so when you said portal system I thought it was using BSP like Quake xD. Great video as always.
I just love DF Retro. It makes my entire day better. XD